Elemental Vice
by White as Sin
Summary: One must realize that the greatest good is also the greatest evil. Within the saviors of the light are demons of the blackness, for they are beyond human and eminently human. Second Part: Fire blazes
1. Chapter 1 Watered Pride

Elemental Vice

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_"'The Salamanders of fire invite one to unregulated passion when they first appear; the Sylphs of wind to losing one's self in dreaming. The Gnomes of earth tempt to the extreme of sloth, self-indulgence, and – if you will forgive me – sexual excess; and the Undines of water to the extreme of self-deception, particularly where one's own abilities are concerned.'" –_ The Fire Rose, by Mercedes Lackey

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Maxims and sayings ruled the Temple. Some were sensible. "Pride goes before fall." "An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure."

Others were philosophical. "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer." "A thousand lessons come in defeat, none in victory."

But one in particular could send shivers down anyone's spine.

"Those capable of the greatest good also are capable of the greatest evil."

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Part One: Watered Pride

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He stood in the rain, brooding, pondering. That was what he tried to do, try to keep himself in humility and meditation.

But she knew while watching him from inside that he was secretly thrilled at the new sash that was at his waist, the bright gold embroideries upon the black-black satin and silk. He hummed in delight, nearly falling over in the intricate shifting of poses he continued to do in the rain to channel his energy, like a monkey, like an acrobat showing off to a delighted, invisible crowd, reveling in his own perfection and glory.

She tilted back her head, feeling it against the cool stone of the temple. He probably knew she was watching, Instincts of the Tiger and such. But let him. Let him think that she was simply admiring him, looking at him to improve herself as well as she could, as she was a _girl_.

Her lip curled in disgust.

Despite her affection for the boy, despite her care for that irresistible face and manner that was so childish yet so very grave, he drove her mad. Water and Fire were opposites after all… She shook her head a bit, clearing her mind.

She- pitied him. Despite his old-fashioned manners and mannerisms, he was a child, kept from the rough things of the world. He wasn't knocked down by the elements and the bad things, the villains that were subtler than Heylin witches and manic boy geniuses. He was allowed to be arrogant, a spoiled brat, if you really thought about it. He really didn't understand others, didn't bother to empathize with the pains of the world. In his arrogance (despite his, indeed, formidable abilities), he forgot that he himself had limits, that others had limits.

But he was the first. And it seemed that's all that mattered in the story. That was what mattered by the end.

Water hid so many things, including truth.

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A/N: Inspired by watching an episode or two, I also was flipping through one of my favorite fairy tale novels and realized the particular vices of each of the elements and how well they fit with the personalities of our dear monks. This is the first in a series. Anyone guess who the first is? 


	2. Chapter 2 Rage Aflame

Part Two: Rage Aflame

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He cared little for the others in actuality, focused most on the one with the most potential, the little monk of the water, nimble and proud and naïve. But only a fool would not stop to consider the others at least in passing.

The one girl fascinated him in her own way. True, it would have been equally easy to corrupt the next strongest, the unspoken second-in-command, the Wind dragon, whose soul contained vestiges of darkness. Darkness that had a definite tinge of green acid, blazing of that sickening wench Wuya's magick. But the girl… the girl was fascinating.

She would prove a challenge, for fire purified and then destroyed all that came at it. But she was physically the weakest and what need had he to fear fire? Dragons reveled in flame, breathed it, and were born into it.

He could not read true darkness, true evil in her. She had not been corrupted, possessed by evil, filled with it like the others; even the stolid Earth dragon had housed an evil! But she had delicious potential.

She raged too easily, lost her temper and her focus. Though it could be argued that she was passionate, that she could not be trapped in intricate workings at the emotions, for she let herself _feel_ and let anger be a hot flash of flame that vanished without a trace. But be it said that she was all too easy to defeat in battle, as one became the water to douse her fire and remove what advantage she ever had.

Immediately, his mind would pick at working her apart as it was wont to do when encountering potential enemies for the last centuries of his life. It wouldn't do to know how to defeat her in battle. It was more… interesting to ponder how to twist her, to see the seed of evil within her.

Her rage was countered by despair; her heart was fragile in that it was passionate. That was why she raged so, clinging to control as desperately as possible. Perhaps that was why she sought power, why she went to the remote hills of China to train herself. But in that passion, she was blind to all else, including her own faults, the feelings and affairs of those around her, allies she could not afford to lose if she sought _true_ power.

What a delicious paradox. He smiled slowly as he stood before an enormous hearth. The flames leapt up, crackling angrily in uncharacteristic defiance, disturbing the stony serenity of his palace with the popping of sap and bubbles within the wood. Rage. Wasted rage. And he slammed the fire into the earth with sheer force, smothering that hopeless source of flame.

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A/N: I love Kimiko, don't get me wrong. But she is cast rather indifferently by the creators of Xiaolin Showdown. /sighs/ It's a shame, no? Her biggest flaw is her temper, one must admit. Because in her temper, she seeks perfection and hides her mistakes. Which have the unfortunate tendency to grow into even bigger problems. She's the hapless instigator. Pandora even. Poor girl. Who can guess the narrator of this? 


End file.
